With the local elevator and MN River providing a backdrop for the Mayo House, it could (and I think is) easily be overlooked. Families of two very Minnesotan icons lived here. W W Mayo built the house, father of William and Charles who all later founded the Mayo Clinic and then generations of the Cosgroves, who founded Green Giant. (Yes, there really is a valley of the Jolly Green Giant.) The Mayo House provides a look at how a more modest family of the 1860s lived, which after Glensheen and the Hill House provides a different perspective. Being a doctor wasn't as lucrative as it seems today, he was also at one point in time ran a ferry across the river, was a census taker, and had other professions, (but never of farmer). In his office/lab/exam room, you can see tools of the trade and greatly appreciated the advances in medicine since then (as well as appreciate the benefits of indoor plumbing). Mostly a self-guided tour and go at your own pace, there is someone available for questions and a video to explain the early Mayo Family history.

The glass recycled x-ray plates that make up the green house. Coodows to them. The hidden dishes stored in the walls of the mansion.

Who knew that the Mayo Clinic started in the same town as the Jolly Green Giant? Very historical.